Colts vs Parramatta - Round 3 - 2011/12 |
Andrew "Elton" Coleman relishes the chance to skipper the sideThe dressing room was full of new faces, with Samira “the scorers favourite” Kasthwriarachichi, Teshan “Kumar” Weregama and Leiboff cousin Sam “Pup” Mart filling up the spots. With the new players came the crowds, as no less than 10 of the Mart/Leiboff family were present, almost a South African Invitational XI. Heading out to face the Parra quicks, Mark “The 18th best leggie in the club” Fonseka and Tim “I can throw I SWEAR” van Zuylen were reminded that wickets in hand meant runs after tea. Unfortunately, things did not initially go to plan, with van Zuylen being caught behind, followed soon by Adam ”No longer the youngest” Aarons and Fonseka, leaving the Stags reeling at 3-41. Cappy and Iqbal “The Enforcer” Ahmed steadied the ship, guiding the Stags past the 100 mark with thoughtful and patient batting. Again though, wickets came in clumps, and we found ourselves in a bit of trouble at 6-126. Enter Dave “I would LIKE to say I can bat a bit…” Leiboff and Teshan “I’ve hit one career six” Weregama. Together the pair dismantled the tiring Parramatta attack, with Weregama smashing 3 sixes into the bushes, and Leiboff pouncing on anything a touch short or wide. Joined by his brother Jason “Mark Waugh” Leiboff, Dave continued his assault, reaching his first Colts century with yet another punishing blow. With the innings saved, Cappy declared with Gordon at 7-304, an immensely respectable score, and 17 overs left to bowl in the day.
Whilst no Dave Leiboff, Iqbal Ahmed put runs on early in the dayThe Beauchamp deck for week two looked to offer a bit more life than the previous week. Tom Bangs and Dave Leiboff, fresh after a week’s rest, bowled magnificently and Parramatta was only able to score a run after 6 overs of, as a Parramatta batsman described it, “Putting the ball on a 50c piece”. This of course brought 2 early wickets. Feeling the pressure already, the rest of the Parramatta line-up crumbled, with all of the bowlers taking wickets. All out for 159, it was a comprehensive first innings win for the Stags. With 150-odd still in the bank, and Parramatta’s best batsman away this week, Coleman sent the river boys back in. Wickets came early due to some swing in the air combined with excellent straight bowling, but soon dried up. Due to an ankle injury, Iqbal was unable to bowl, leaving Mark “Warnie” Fonseka to create some magic. At tea, Gordon needed 5 more wickets with 36 overs in hand. Coleman put it to a vote as to whether it was worth continuing, and the boys agreed to up the ante and make some inroads. The Stags lived up to their promise, returning to the field with 3 slips, 2 gullies, a point, and two short covers. Dave Leiboff was one ball away from becoming the first player I’ve ever heard of to score a century and take a hat-trick in a single match. Finally, Parramatta was bundled out for 78, giving Gordon an outright victory of an innings and 67 runs. An all-round great performance after a rocky start, securing an outright win first up for the new skipper. It’s great to be Gordon down old Chatswood Way. Adam AaronsEditor’s Note: From all reports, the humble author of this piece bowled very well in both innings to take 6 wickets for the match Colts scores |
Seeking to recover from the first loss in who knows how many seasons, the Colts descended upon Beauchamp to face Parramatta. New Colts skipper Andrew “Cappy” Coleman got off to a perfect start, winning the toss and electing to bat on a good Beauchamp wicket, while sending Parra out into the 32° heat. 
Exhausted from his knock, but always the team player, Dave took the new ball along with Tom “Noddy” Bangs, but soon succumbed to cramping. The Parramatta batsmen had decided that they were going to try and reduce the deficit as much as possible before stumps, and set about slashing at everything within reach. Undoubtedly, wickets came with the help of some great bowling from Ahmed, Bangs and Kasthwriarachichi, but so did the runs, and Parra ended day one at 2-90.
